ITLOTC
(In The Life Of The Church)
Easter
During this Easter season I have been doing a lot of reflecting. Reflecting about the way that my life ought to look in light of the things I profess to be true. I think Easter can sometimes be a challenge for me – not because I don’t enjoy it, I think the Easter season is full of joy and beauty – but because I often struggle to understand what work is mine to do in the Easter season.
The work that is mine to do in Lent seems obvious. Lent is a season of reflection and preparation and sacrifice. A season in which we ready ourselves to celebrate Easter. I am very comfortable thinking about the ways in which I come up short. I am constantly doing self-assessment and measuring the ways in which I could be a better Christ-follower (and a better pastor and a better friend and a better daughter and a better person, but I digress). And so Lent comes pretty naturally to me.
But Easter is a little more foreign to me – what does it mean to live into Christ’s victory over sin and death? What does that look like? How can I live that out?
There’s a Barabra Brown Taylor reading that Jamie uses at Ash Wednesday and Good Friday every year – and I think it has helped me to make sense of this in some ways. Here’s a bit of it:
“I remember being at a retreat once where the leader asked us to think of someone who represented Christ in our lives. When it came time to share our answers, one woman stood up and said, "I had to think hard about that one. I kept thinking, ‘Who is it who told me the truth about myself so clearly that I wanted to kill him for it?"’ According to John, Jesus died because he told the truth to everyone he met. He was the truth, a perfect mirror in which people saw themselves in God’s own light.
What happened then goes on happening now. In the presence of his integrity, our own pretense is exposed. In the presence of his constancy, our cowardice is brought to light. In the presence of his fierce love for God and for us, our own hardness of heart is revealed. Take him out of the room and all those things become relative. I am not that much worse than you are nor you than I, but leave him in the room and there is no place to hide. He is the light of the world. In his presence, people either fall down to worship him or do everything they can to extinguish his light.”
I think that Easter is confounding to me because it can sometimes feel like the equivalent of a spiritual sunburn. It is my own personal struggle to constantly be comparing myself against the people around me – constantly trying to work for self-improvement in ways that are ultimately meaningless. Because in the light of the goodness and greatness of the risen Christ it becomes clear that none of that comparison matters. The only thing worth striving for is Christ-likeness. The only image we should be looking to be formed into is the image of Christ.
Sometimes in Scripture God is compared to a refiner’s fire – a fire that burns out impurities. And I have certainly experienced in my life seasons of refinement – when it felt as though God was burning things out of my life and out of me left and right. But I have also, often, been surprised by those seasons. Been surprised by the things within myself that have been refined – sometimes they were things I considered good, holy even. Friendships, relationships, hobbies, vocational pursuits, passions – all of these things have been refined in my life, not because of my own self-assessment but, because they were laid bare in the light of Christ.
During Easter we celebrate that Christ is risen and among us. That we do not walk this earth alone and without hope because Christ has already won the battle for us. And this has deep implications for how we live our lives. So friends – as I figure this out for myself I would love to hear from you – how are you living this year in light of the risen Christ? How are you acting, thinking, or behaving differently because Christ has shown God’s truth on your life? Please let me know. Send me an email here: taylor@ubcwaco.org. I look forward to hearing from you.
Meet Our Newest Finance Team Member
Recently some of our fearless champions Doug McNamee, Hannah Kuhl and Justin Pond finished their terms on the finance team. Thanks Doug, Hannah and Justin. They leave our financial situation the best it has ever been. We are grateful for your service and care to UBC.
In light of these transitions, we’d like to introduce you to our new finance team members over the next few weeks.
Name: Jen Carron
What do you do in Waco: I work at Baylor leading enrollment management. Basically, we have a huge team of amazing people working to recruit, admit, provide aid, enroll students- and keep them until graduation!
Do you have a favorite Bible verse, chapter book?: Numbers 6:24-26
Best Waco Restaurant: currently- Alpha Omega. It’s delicious, but not too fussy so you can bring the kids!
Current Show: RE-watching every season of the Office
Something we’d never know about you: so many things? I have photic sneeze reflex and 50% of my children have it too. ☺
Why UBC?: Because Burt Burleson told us to…
Study Hall
It’s that time of the semester, and you UBC is here for you. We will be open from 10am-midnight on Dead Days (May 6 and 7). We will have the usual: snacks, drinks, coffee, wi-fi, and fun. On the 7th at 9pm, we have surprise this year that you definitely don’t want to miss out on. If you have any questions, email toph@ubcwaco.org.
Mother’s Night Out
This year - in an effort to show gratitude for the mothers of UBC - we are going to be having a Mother’s Night Out! On Friday May 10th from 6pm-9pm we will be having Mother’s Night Out at UBC. If you are going to bring your children or if you are would like to volunteer because you love your own mother or all mothers - please send an email to Taylor here. Mothers - please feel free to use this time any way you want!! Do you, boo.
Image to generate clickbait traffic
A brief word on the images whose purpose is to generate clickbait traffic. Of all the series of pictures of have done (1980s toys, 1990s bands, etc.) riddles have generated the most feedback. Some of you have expressed frustration either through the internet, email or in person, suggesting that you would like to see the answers. So I have decided to add a feature to this section where you can click here to see the answer.
Work is Worship
Greeters: Ricky & Daniel
Coffee Makers: Clarks and Co.
Mug Cleaners: Order of Phoenix
Money Counter: Hannah
Leadership Team
If you have a concern or an idea for UBC that you’d like to share with someone that is not on staff, feel free to contact one of our leadership team members.
Chair- Adam Winn: adamwinn68@yahoo.com
Byron Griffin: byrontgriffin@gmail.com
Kerri Fisher: Kerri_Fisher@baylor.edu
Bridget Heins: bheins@hot.rr.com
Jeremy Nance: Jeremy.J.Nance@L3T.com
Joanna Sowards: jo.sowards@gmail.com
Kathy Krey: kathykrey@gmail.com
Student Position, Samuel Moore: samuel_moore2@baylor.edu
Student Position, Anna Carol Peery: anna_peery@baylor.edu
UBC Finance Team
Do you have a question about UBC’s financial affairs? Please feel free to contact any of your finance team members.
JD Newman: JD_Newman@baylor.edu
Catherine Ballas: catherine@refitrev.com
Jen Carron: jen.carron78@gmail.com
Mike Dodson:
George Thornton:
UBC HR Team
If you have concerns about staff and would like contact our human resources team, please feel free to email any of the following members.
Josh Blake: joshnblake@gmail.com
Ross Van Dyke: Ross_Vandyke@baylor.edu
Jared Gould: jared.gould1@gmail.com
Rebekah Powell: rpowell671@gmail.com
Kristen Richardson: wacorichardsons@gmail.com